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To help their 91-year-old father manage anger and aggression related to dementia, his children went rogue with his medical care.

Without telling his doctors, they’ve been treating him with cannabis.

One of his daughters has a medical background. A retired nurse living in Portland, she had heard about the possible benefits of marijuana extracts in Alzheimer’s patients. Though there was little research on the topic – and it has a dubious federal legality in the United States – cannabidiol oil, became a last resort for the family.

“Things were getting really bad and he wasn’t going to be able to stay at home because of his aggressive behavior,” his daughter said.

For the past year, with the consent of her siblings and as her father’s medical decision maker, she has been giving him capsules of the oil. The compound has been shown to help with anxiety, pain and other ailments. It doesn’t contain the compound